Thursday, June 23, 2005

I am very very sympathetic with both sides of the flag burning issue. Recently the US House of representatives passed an anti-burn bill. It is unlikely though that it will pass in the senate. But we'll see.

I am sure if it passes we can expect a spate of jokes with the punchline "well, in Syria they can burn the American flag all they want, and here we can't, so they are freer than we are."

On the other hand one can get all philosophical and legal about things like treason, fighting words, national symbols, liberty, etc. . .

But I have a very clear gut reaction to this, and this is what I revert to when getting philosophical will not change anyone's mind. In brief: "I will kill and die (literally) to secure your right to burn whatever flag you want, but if you do it in my presence I will kick your ass."